Joseph Cardinal Bernardin

His Eminence Joseph Louis Bernardin
Cardinal, Archbishop of Chicago
See	Chicago
Appointed	July 8, 1982
Installed	August 25, 1982
Term ended	November 14, 1996
Predecessor	John Cody
Successor	Francis George
Other posts	Cardinal-Priest of Gesù Divin Lavoratore (Jesus the Divine Worker)
Orders
Ordination	April 26, 1952 by John Joyce Russell
Consecration	April 26, 1966 by Paul John Hallinan
Created Cardinal	February 2, 1983 by John Paul II
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	(1928-04-02)April 2, 1928 Columbia, South Carolina
Died	November 14, 1996(1996-11-14) (aged 68) Chicago, Illinois
Previous post	President Of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1974–1977) Archbishop of Cincinnati (1972–82) General Secretary Of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops (1968–1972) Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta (1966–1968)
Motto	As Those Who Serve
Coat of arms

Styles of Joseph Bernardin
Reference style	His Eminence
Spoken style	Your Eminence
Informal style	Cardinal
See	Chicago

Joseph Louis Bernardin (April 2, 1928 – November 14, 1996) was an American Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Cincinnati from 1972 until 1982, and as Archbishop of Chicago from 1982 until his death in 1996 from pancreatic cancer. Bernardin was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983 by Pope John Paul II.

Joseph Bernardin was born on April 2, 1928, in Columbia, South Carolina, to Joseph and Maria Simion Bernardin, an Italian immigrant couple. He was baptized and confirmed at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Columbia. His father died of cancer when Bernardin was six. He took responsibility for his younger sister, Elaine, while his widowed mother worked as a seamstress.

Bernardin's original academic ambition was to become a physician, inspiring him to enroll in the pre-medical program at the University of South Carolina. He then transferred to Saint Mary Seminary in Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy in 1948, and subsequently enrolled in The Catholic University of America to complete his theological studies.

On April 26, 1952, Bernardin was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Charleston by John J. Russell at St. Joseph Church. This diocese covers the entire state of South Carolina. During his 14-year tenure at the Diocese of Charleston, Father Bernardin served under four bishops in capacities including chancellor, vicar general, diocesan counselor, and, when the See was vacant, diocesan administrator. In 1959, Pope John XXIII named Bernardin a Papal Chamberlain with the title Very Reverend Monsignor.